Welcome to our informational blog.
Topics covered include literary theory and practice, academic writing techniques, philosophy of education, and explanations of our methods for enhancing creative intelligence.
Ethos, Pathos, Logos: A Guide for High School Writers and Tutors
A high school writing tutor can be instrumental in helping students effectively use rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos in their persuasive essays. The tutor’s guidance can refine students’ writing skills, enabling them to craft compelling arguments and critically analyze the arguments of others.
Biographical Narratives: A Tool for High School Essay Writing Instruction
A writing tutor for high school students can effectively incorporate biographies of famous historical figures into their pedagogy by using these narratives to teach various essay writing techniques. The rich content and structured storytelling found in biographies provide a fertile ground for developing critical thinking, analytical skills, and coherent writing.
Mythological Stories as a Foundation for Middle School Writing
Greek and Roman mythology offers a treasure trove of material that can be used to stimulate creativity, foster critical thinking, and deepen students' understanding of storytelling. Middle school writing tutors can effectively integrate mythological stories and characters into their prompts and pedagogical strategies to capture students' interest and enhance their writing skills.
Scholarly vs. Popular Sources in High School Essay Research
High school writing tutors play a crucial role in guiding students on how to effectively use both scholarly and popular sources in their essays. By providing personalized assistance and fostering a deeper understanding of these sources, tutors can help students enhance the quality and credibility of their research and writing.
Close Reading: Building a Foundation for Literary Competence
Close reading equips readers with the tools to engage with texts on a deeper level, fostering a lifelong appreciation for literature and the written word. An online writing tutor for middle school students can effectively guide students through the process of close reading by employing several structured methods designed to enhance their analytical skills and deepen their understanding of texts.
From Source to Essay: Effective Summarizing and Paraphrasing for Students
A high school writing tutor can play a crucial role in helping students overcome the challenges associated with summarizing and paraphrasing effectively in their essays. By providing targeted instruction and practical exercises, tutors can guide students in mastering these essential skills.
The Pomodoro Method: A Tutor's Guide to Improving Writing Productivity
By capitalizing on time-boxing, frequent breaks, and a sense of urgency, the Pomodoro Method offers a simple yet effective strategy for managing tasks. Reading and writing tutors can leverage this method to help writers achieve their goals, providing guidance, accountability, and skill development.
The Power of Opposing Views: Integrating Naysayers in Your Essay
A high school writing tutor can guide a student towards effectively incorporating naysayers' arguments into their texts through personalized instruction that focuses on comprehension, critical thinking, and coherent argumentation.
Overcoming Writer's Block: How Online Tutors Can Help
An online writing tutor can offer valuable guidance to an author struggling with writer's block through a variety of proven strategies and techniques.
Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Understanding the complexities of the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage in Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development can significantly enrich a writing tutor's approach to teaching adolescent students. This stage, focusing on the development of a cohesive self-identity, offers a unique opportunity for writing tutors to tailor their pedagogy in ways that not only improve writing skills but also support students' broader developmental needs.
Erikson's Stages of Development: Industry vs. Inferiority
During the Industry vs. Inferiority stage, children are at a prime age to develop their writing skills. This is a period when they are not only capable of mastering complex tasks but are also developing a sense of self-confidence in their abilities. A language arts tutor can play a crucial role in helping a student navigate this developmental stage by enhancing their writing skills, fostering a positive self-concept as a writer, and encouraging a lifelong passion for learning.
Ambiguity in Literature: Fostering Participatory Reading
An English literature tutor guides students through the analysis and interpretation of ambiguity. The key to effective tutoring in this context is to equip students with the tools necessary for close reading and to foster an environment where open-ended discussion and multiple interpretations are encouraged.
Embracing Individuality: The Montessori Method's Influence on Writing Tutoring
This article explores how the key principles of the Montessori method—individualized learning, choice-driven exploration, varied learning materials, the educator's guiding role, and a collaborative learning environment—can revolutionize writing tutoring.
The Role of Online Writing Tutors in Teaching Effective Internet Use
In the digital age, the ability to effectively use the internet and evaluate the reliability of sources has become an essential skill set for students of all ages. Online writing tutors are uniquely positioned to teach these skills within the context of writing education.
Educational "Third Spaces": Tutoring & Innovation
In the vast and ever-changing landscape of education, "third spaces" constitute a transformative arena wherein the boundaries of traditional learning are challenged and expanded. These environments, neither strictly institutional nor purely informal, have become crucial incubators for pedagogical experimentation and innovation. At the heart of these spaces lies the age-old practice of tutoring.
A Writing Tutor’s Practical Strategies for Metacognitive Education
The development of metacognitive abilities in students is increasingly recognized as a key factor in enhancing learning outcomes. Accordingly, educators should study specific techniques for teaching them. At the Gilliam Writers Group, we feel that internet-based tutors are uniquely positioned to foster these skills, especially since the “mainstream-ification” of remote learning platforms.
Metacognition & Education: How GWG’s Writing Tutors Navigate the Learning Mind
At the Gilliam Writers Group, we understand that writing is more than just stringing words together; it's a reflective, strategic process. This is where metacognition, the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes, becomes pivotal. Our writing tutors not only guide our students in mastering language and structure but also in developing a metacognitive approach to writing. This involves teaching them to think about their thinking, strategize their learning, and reflect on their writing practices.
A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Tutors on Assessing and Encouraging Student Progress
Writing is a complex skill that involves various cognitive processes and creative elements, making it challenging to teach and assess. For writing tutors, the task of evaluating student progress and encouraging continual growth requires a multi-faceted approach. In today’s post, I will outline several effective methods that the savvy writing tutor can employ to accurately assess and foster student development in writing and reading.
Metacognition in Focus: Understanding Its Impact on Learning and Psychological Well-Being
Metacognition, a term coined in the late 1970s, refers to the awareness and control of one's own thought processes. It's a concept that might sound abstract at first, but it plays a fundamental role in how we learn, solve problems, and perceive our own abilities. At its simplest, metacognition is thinking about thinking, or being aware of one's awareness.
Cultivating Critical Minds: 14 Writing Exercises from Gilliam Writers Group Tutors
In a world of fast-paced information and polarized viewpoints, critical thinking stands out as a non-negotiable skill for today’s students. The Gilliam Writers Group understands this; each writing tutor on our faculty has crafted their own suite of exercises that aim not only to sharpen students' critical faculties but also to broaden their creative horizons.